The standard practice in most mailcenters across the country is to process mail as they arrive, with little, if any, planning to include provisions to track and tally incoming mail. For example, the conventional method in most mailcenters across the country is to deliver by hand mail that is received at the mailcenter. However, a large percentage of the mail may be unwanted (e.g., “junk mail”). Further, most mailcenters have no idea where their incoming mail actually comes from, who the mail is going to, sizes of their incoming mail or the classes of their incoming mail which makes it very difficult to know the amount of unwanted mail that is being received. As a result, mailcenters spend tremendous amounts of money and time receiving, sorting, distributing and delivering mail that is often unwanted and immediately thrown away by the mail service customer. Further, most mailcenters do not charge for the sorting and delivery of incoming mail, as there is no provision to accurately account for the incoming mail, in contrast to outgoing mail.
An improved approach to process and deliver mail, such as by integrating and adapting existing information technology tools, is needed.